West Region

This topic has been updated with 2016 Census data for all areas. What's this?

In 2016, 28% of households in West Region contained only one person, compared with 24% in the City of Mitcham, with the most dominant household size being 2 persons per household.

The size of households in general follows the life-cycle of families. Households are usually small at the stage of relationship formation (early marriage), and then increase in size with the advent of children. They later reduce in size again as these children reach adulthood and leave home. Household size can also be influenced by a lack (or abundance) of affordable housing. Overseas migrants and indigenous persons often have a tradition of living with extended family members which significantly affects household size.

Household size in Australia has declined since the 1970s but between 2006 and 2016, the average household size remained stable for the nation as a whole.

An increasing household size in an area may indicate a lack of affordable housing opportunities for young people, an increase in the birth rate or an increase in family formation in the area. A declining household size may indicate children leaving the area when they leave home, an increase in retirees settling in the area, or an attraction of young singles and couples to the area.

Derived from the three Census questions:

'Name of each person including visitors who spent the night of Tuesday, 9 August 2016 in this dwelling', and 'Where does the person usually live?', and 'Name of each person who usually lives in this dwelling but was away on Tuesday, 9 August 2016.'

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2016 (Enumerated data)Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id, the population experts.

Change in household size, 2011 to 2016

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2011 and 2016 (Enumerated data)Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id, the population experts.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the number of persons usually resident in a household in West Region compared with the City of Mitcham shows that there were a higher proportion of lone person households, and a lower proportion of larger households (those with 4 persons or more). Overall there were 28.1% of lone person households, and 24.8% of larger households, compared with 23.9% and 27.1% respectively for the City of Mitcham.

The major differences in the household size for West Region and the City of Mitcham were:

A larger percentage of households with 1 person usually resident (28.1% compared to 23.9%)

A smaller percentage of households with 4 persons usually resident (16.1% compared to 18.7%)

A smaller percentage of households with 2 persons usually resident (31.7% compared to 33.4%)

Emerging groups

The number of households in West Region decreased by 39 between 2011 and 2016.

The largest changes in the number of persons usually resident in a household in West Region between 2011 and 2016 were:

Free demographic resources

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